The results showed that the supplements did not reduce falls by
15 percent or more, which means they had little effect, according
to Mark Bolland of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and
colleagues.

They concluded that there is insufficient evidence to support
recommending vitamin D to seniors to lower their risk of falls, and
also said that current ongoing studies investigating this theory
are unlikely to change the conclusion.

The study was published in the April 23 issue of
The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinologyjournal.

The researchers noted that current evidence does not show
whether taking vitamin D supplements might reduce falls in
particularly vulnerable older people, such as those who fall often.
This is because most studies examine only the total number of falls
among all participants, rather than the number of falls per
person.

Until now, some evidence that vitamin D supplements might
prevent falls has led certain health organizations to recommend the
use of the supplements, the review authors noted.

"Whether a large trial is feasible in this vulnerable population
remains to be established. Until then, we are left with uncertainty
about the benefits of vitamin D supplementation for reduction in
fall risk, particularly among vulnerable older people," Clifford
Rosen, of the Maine Medical Research Institute, and Christine
Taylor, of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, wrote in an
accompanying commentary.

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